If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Wexell: Mendenhall looks incredible, why we kept 3 QBs

Time for Star Gazing

By Jim Wexell
SteelCityInsider.net
Posted Sep 4, 2012

As reported, Mike Wallace and Rashard Mendenhall elevated the Steelers’ practice tempo Monday to warp speed. On Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that both, along with outside linebacker James Harrison, could start ...

“I’ll leave the door open for all of them,” said Tomlin. “We’ll see how they respond to the workload.”

Of the three, Mendenhall was the biggest surprise at Monday’s practice. His burst and long speed had the defensive players buzzing.

The Steelers’ timetable did not have Mendenhall returning this early from his torn ACL only 8 months ago, but he’s now in the running with Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer for the starting job this week.

Wallace and Harrison are more likely to start Sunday, particularly Wallace after Tomlin on Tuesday praised his conditioning and how well he executed his assignments.

Harrison, meanwhile, complained after Monday’s practice about his “legs, especially with the conditioning and everything. It’s a lot harder out there. It felt like the actual first day of training camp,” said Harrison, whose availability will be determined by how his knee responds to practice this week.

If Harrison does play, he’ll more than likely leave plenty of snaps for Chris Carter, who replaced Harrison throughout training camp. Another outside linebacker, Jason Worilds, is also expected to play.

Tomlin also confirmed that rookie Chris Rainey will return both punts and kickoffs, but in response to the question of whether he “trusted Rainey,” Tomlin said: “He will be given a return opportunity. I’m not going to go so far as to say ‘trusted.’ (Laughs) He’s a young guy.”

Tomlin said that Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders could also return punts and kickoffs, respectively.

Ruled out of Sunday’s game by Tomlin were FS Ryan Clark (sickle cell trait), ILB Stevenson Sylvester (knee) and OG David DeCastro (knee). The Steelers can put DeCastro on injured reserve after 4 p.m. Tuesday, thereby qualifying him for a return after midseason. The Steelers are expected to sign Trai Essex to replace DeCastro, but doing so next week could save the team money as well as keep their options open for a serious injury at a more important position, like quarterback.

Also of note from the first of Tomlin’s weekly press conferences Tuesday was his explanation of why he kept two backup quarterbacks, Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch.

“There’s always discussion in today’s NFL whether you go with two or three. I find comfort in three,” Tomlin said. “When I walk up and down these hallways and look at pictures of the ’70s Steelers, they had 45-man rosters and I saw three quarterbacks on those pictures. So that’s a little bit of a history lesson for me.”

They never had 3 QBs over 30 in those pictures...I don't think.
They normally had one veteran backup and a younger guy.
For some reason, we keep 3 old dudes. Charlie is a good stop gap, but we can't win a super bowl with him needing to play the playoffs. Same with Leftwich probably. So why keep both and dump Jerod..who had a preseason passer rating of almost 140! Kid deserved more of a chance.

They never had 3 QBs over 30 in those pictures...I don't think.
They normally had one veteran backup and a younger guy.
For some reason, we keep 3 old dudes. Charlie is a good stop gap, but we can't win a super bowl with him needing to play the playoffs. Same with Leftwich probably. So why keep both and dump Jerod..who had a preseason passer rating of almost 140! Kid deserved more of a chance.

I hear you, aggiebones. Only thing I can think of is the F.O. believes we have a reasonable chance of WINNING the Superbowl, and think that we're more likely to do that without a young inexperienced buck than with.

If they thought this was just a rebuilding year, I bet we would have kept the rook and let one of the Oldsters go.

Awesome news about Mendenhall. Amidst all of this arguing back and forth about who is the better RB to start for us while Mendenhall is out, Mendenhall himself is our best option if healthy.

Yep!!! If healthy Mendy is the starter. No one has proven they are good enough to take that away from him. All the talk was because he was hurt. he is our best RB altought I think he is coming back too soon.

Yep!!! If healthy Mendy is the starter. No one has proven they are good enough to take that away from him. All the talk was because he was hurt. he is our best RB altought I think he is coming back too soon.

JD will make far more big plays than RM. Oh, he looks super good in practice, whoopie;
so do lots of guys. He has had years to show what he can do when it counts and
he comes up lame most times, including fumbling the football which LOST the SUPER
BOWL. He's not a winner. Move on. JD will produce more when it matters. Don't waste
this opportunity on a player who has proven to under-perform when it matters most.

JD will make far more big plays than RM. Oh, he looks super good in practice, whoopie;
so do lots of guys. He has had years to show what he can do when it counts and
he comes up lame most times, including fumbling the football which LOST the SUPER
BOWL. He's not a winner. Move on. JD will produce more when it matters. Don't waste
this opportunity on a player who has proven to under-perform when it matters most.

Wow ... I'm not exactly Mendy's biggest fan but I don't believe he lost us the SB. If anything it was the play of the offensive line that was a big cause for the loss. If they would have given Ben protection his arm wouldn't have gotten hit and Wallace might have scored on the play. If Mendy would have been able to gone one step before being hit maybe he doesn't fumble. How do we let those defenders in the backfield that quickly?

As for Mendy I think he is the kind of runner that needs his line to give him a crease. Get him to the second level and he starts to gobble up yards. If he doesn't get a crease he can't make one like Redman. That's why I've always said that I think Redman is the better runner for the type of offensive line we have been putting on the field. I had hopes the O-line would be better this year but with DD out for an extended period and Adams doing his best Jermaine Stephens imitation I've tempered my enthusiasm. If we ever do get that O-line clicking I think you will see Mendy shine.

He has had years to show what he can do when it counts and
he comes up lame most times, including fumbling the football which LOST the SUPER
BOWL.

equal blame could be placed on David Johnson for missing the block that allowed Mendy to get hit, on Kemo for missing his block which allowed Ben's arm to get hit on the interception that was returned for a TD instead of being a long TD pass to Wallace, on Bruce Arians for some of the worst play-calling on that last drive that did not take advantage of Green Bay's depleted secondary, etc.